Hand grapple



Nov. 14, 1967 ,J NLBOY ET AL 3,352,589

HAND GRAPPLE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 28, 1965 lNVE/V TORS. LAMBERT J. K/LBOY and 8 JOHN L/TECKY JR.

A I rarney L. J. KILBOY ET AL Nov. 14, 196? HAND GRAPPLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec 28, 1965 INVENTORS. LAMBERT J. K/L BOY and B aomv urea/(y JR.

Attorney United States Patent 3,352,589 HAND GRAPPLE Lambert J. Kiihoy, 9625 Ridgeway, Evergreen Park, Ill.

60642, and John Litecky, JL, 8406 Burley Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60617 Filed Dec. 28, 1965, Ser. No. 516,844 4 Claims. (Cl. 294-16) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hand grapple for gripping a cable, sling, or like article. The grapple includes a pair of scissor arms which are pivotally connected together and which operate an appropriate means for gripping an article. A locking arm has a pivotal connection with one of the scissor arms and a pin and slot connection with the other scissor arm. The pin and the slot are positioned so that the pin will be held compressed against the end of the slot when the grapple is closed. This compressed pin and a stop means provided on one scissor arm locks the grapple in a closed position.

This invention relates to a hand grapple for obtaining a firm grip'on a cable, sling, or like article. Such a grapple is particularly useful in operations wherein heavy equipment suspended from cables or slings is being moved from one location to another.

Moving heavy equipment and placing it accurately in a desired location is a diflicult task that usually requires not only a crane operator to manipulate the cables which support the equipment, but also one or more workmen who are equipped with hand hooks to grab hold of the cables close to where they are connected to the equipment. These workmen with their hooks help pull the equipment to a location over the place where it is to be set down. However, with the hand hooks available in the past for grasping cables, workmen have had difficulty holding the cable securely so as to maintain their grip while pulling or pushing the cable to guide the equipment. With many of these hooks, the grasp of the cable is even less secure than it would be if the workman held the cable with his bare hands. Of course, such gripping of the cable with ones bare hands would be too dangerous, and in many instances would be impractical because of the distance a workman would have to reach in order to grip the cable.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide an improved hand grapple that will hold cables, slings, and similar articles with a firm, secure grip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand grapple for articles that will not require great effort by the user to maintain a secure grip while he is manipulating the article;

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hand grapple for articles having a grip that is firm, yet can be easily applied to and removed from the article by the user of the grapple.

These and other objects will become more apparent from the following description of our invention and the enclosed drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of one embodiment of our invention showing a hand grapple in its open position;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the hand grapple of FIG- URE 1 shown in its closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of our invention showing a hand grapple in its open position;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of a third embodiment of our invention, showing a hand grapple in its open position;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of a hand grapple of FIGURE 4 in its closed position; and

FIGURE 6 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of our invention, showing a hand grapple in its open position.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, a grapple 10, shown in its open position, includes scissor arms 11 and 12, pivotally connected together by a pin 13. A first link 14 is pivotally connected to scissor arm 12 by a pin 15, and a second link 16 is pivotally connected to link 14 by pin 17. A pin 18 pivotally connects link 16 to scissor arm 11, and hooks 19 on the ends of link 16 and scissor arm 11 are for grasping a cable C or similar article therebetween.

The grapple 10 also has a locking arm 20 which is pivotally connected to scissor arm 11 by pin 21. The locking arm 20 is also connected to scissor arm 12 by a sliding pivotal connection that comprises a slot 24 in the scissor arm 12, and a pin 25 that slides within slot 24 and is welded to the locking arm 20. The relative rotation of the arms 12 and 20 about pin 25 is limited by a stop lug 26, which is welded onto the bottom of arm 12 and stops the further movement of scissor arm 11 when the arms 12 and 20 are brought together.

Scabbards 27 and 28 are welded to the free ends of arms 12 and 20 respectively, to facilitate the opening and closing of the grapple 10.

In operation, a cable C is grasped firmly between the hooks 19 by a workman operating by hand the scissor arm 12 and locking arm 20. The workman has his thumb around the arm 12 and beneath the scabbard 27, and the other four fingers of his hand are slipped within the scabbard 28 and around the locking arm 20. Pressing the little-finger edge of his hand against the back of scabbard 28, the workman draws the arm 20 backward while rotating it toward the arm 12. With this motion the pin 25 moves backward in slot 24 toward rear end 29 of the slot.

The position of slot end 29 along the arm 12 is such that when arms 12 and 20 are parallel to each other and pins 13, 21, and 25 are aligned with each other, the pin 25 will be held compressed elastically against the slot end 29. When the pin 25 reaches the slot end 25, the workman continues to pull the locking arm 20 backward, bending the pin 25 elastically until scissor arm 11 contacts the stop lug 26, as shown in FIGURE 2.

The lug 26 is positioned so that when it is contacted by scissor arm 11, the pin 21 connecting arms 11 and 20 is barely beneath a straight line between pins 25 and 13. With arms 11 and 20 in this positon, they cannot be moved back toward their original position in FIGURE 1 without passing through a position in which they are aligned and parallel with arm 12. This would require a compression of pin 25 against the slot end 29, which could not occur without the arms 12 and 20 being forcibly pulled apart. The cable C is thus held firmly by the closed hooks 19.

On a grapple with a distance of about 15 inches between the slot end 28 and the pivot pin 13, the slot end 28 should be located so that the pin 25 is bent elastically about of an inch toward the pin 18 when the pins 13, 21, and 25 are exactly aligned with each other. This amount of bending of the pin 25 will insure that the grapple locks securely in its closed position. On grapples having a larger space than 15 inches between pin 13 and slot end 29, a greater amount of bending of the pin 25 would be recommended. However, the bending of this pin must be kept within its elastic limit, since a permanent plastic deformation of the pin 25 would impair the ability 3 of the arms 12 and 20 to lock securely when they were brought together.

To release the grapple 10 from the cable C (FIGURE 2), the workman presses downward on the scabbard 28 with the back of his hand. This pressure on the scabbard 28 forces the compression of pin 25 against the slot end 29 and allows the locking arm 20 to spring past its position parallel with arm 12. This results in a return of the locking arm 20 to its position shown in FIGURE 1 and the hooks 19 surrounding the cable C are thus opened.

Thus, the hand grapple 10 may be easily engaged and disengaged from the cable C with very little effort by the workman using it. With the linkage provided, which locks the cable securely in its closed position, some force is required to open and close the hooks 19, but by applying this force only momentarily, the workman gains the advantage of a firm, lasting grip on the cable he is holding. Furthermore, this grip is maintained with little or no eifort while the workman is manipulating the cable.

The connection of scissor arm 12 to link 16 need not necessarily be made by another link such as link 14. Instead, the scissor arm 12 may be made integral with the link 16, as shown in the second embodiment of the invention in FIGURE 3.

In this embodiment, grapple 10 has a scissor arms 11 and 12 pivotally connected by pin 13 Gripping hook 19 is formed on the end of the arm 12 and the arm 12 thus replaces both arm 12 and link 16 of the grapple of FIGURES 1 and 2. The grapple 10 is operated in the same manner as grapple 10 in FIGURE 1 and gives the same secure grip to cable C as the grapple 10 gives to the cable C. However, the grapple shown in FIGURE 3 has one disadvantage. If the grapple 10 of FIGURE 3 were made the same length as grapple 10 of FIGURE 1, then the distance between pin 13 and slot end 29 would be greater on the grapple 10 than the distance between the corresponding pin 13 and slot end 29 of the grapple 10. This would mean that the grapple 10 would have to be designed so that the pin 25 would be required to undergo more bending in order for the grapple to be locked securely when the arms 12 and 20 are brought together.

With longer grapples made according to the design shown in FIGURE 3, it might be impossible to achieve a satisfactory locking of such grapples in their closed positions, because the extent to which the pin 25 must bend to achieve such a locking would be beyond the elasticity of the pin. As was stated before, a plastic deformation of pin 25 would impair the ability of the arms 12 and 20 to lock securely when they were brought together. Thus, the grapple 10 in FIGURE 3 would be useful mainly in situations Where a short grapple would be sufiicient for grabbing cables, While the grapple 10 shown in FIGURE 1 would be more desirable in situations that required a longer grapple to handle the cable.

If a still longer grapple were needed, the embodiment illustrated by grapple 10 in FIGURE 4 could be used. This grapple is the same as that shown in FIGURE 1, except that arm 11 and link 16*, corresponding to arm 11 and link 16 in FIGURE 1, are not provided with integral gripping hooks. Instead, hook arms 30 and 31 are pivotally attached to arm 11 and link 16 respectively by pins 32 and 33. Also, these hook arms are pivotally connected to each other by a pin 34.

A lazy tong type of linkage is thus provided on the end of grapple 10 for extending the length of the grapple without increasing the distance between pin 13 and slot end 27*. Obviously, the length of the grapple 10 may be made even longer, merely by perpetuating the lazy tong linkage shown in FIGURE 4.

The grapple 10 is shown in FIGURE in its closed position.

Another type of lazy tong linkage, illustrated by the grapple of FIGURE 6, may be preferred. With this grapple, the scissor arm 12 is extended beyond the pin 13 which pivotally connects the scissor arms 11 and 12 together. Link 36 is pivotally connected to the extended portion of arm 12 by pin 37, and link 38 is pivotally connected to arm 11 by a pin 39. The links 36 and 38 are pivotally connected to each other by a pin 40 and each has a gripping hook 19 similar to the gripping hooks of the other embodiments described therein. A plate 41 is welded to the end of link 36 where it is pivotally connected to the scissor arm 12 and a plate 42 is welded to the end of link 38 where the link is pivotally connected to the scissor arm 11 These plates 41 and 42 overlap the scissor arms 11 and 12 when the grapple 10 is in its closed position, and they keep the grapple rigid at this point where it might otherwise be broken into two freely rotatable arms, due to the pivot pins 33 and 35 being brought into alignment with one another.

While several embodiments of our invention have been shown and described herein, other modifications will be readily apparent that are within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A grapple comprising a pair of scissor arms connected to one another at a first pivotal connection,

appropriate grasping means connected to each of said scissor arms for grasping an article therebetween,

a locking arm connected to the first of said scissor arms at a second pivotal connection, said locking arm having a sliding pivotal connection with the second of said scissor arms,

said sliding pivotal connection between said second scissor arm and said locking arm including a pin mounted on one of said arms and the other of said arms having a slot therein, said pin being inserted through said slot,

one end of said slot being properly positioned so that when said second scissor arm and said locking arm are rotated about said pin to bring the pin into a straight line with said first and second pivotal connections, said pin will be held compressed against said end-of the slot, and

means for limiting the rotation in one direction of said locking arm with respect to said second scissor arm, said limiting means so acting when said locking arm is in such a position that it will also be held from rotation in the other direction by said pin compressed against said end of said slot.

2. The grapple of claim 1 having scabbards mounted on the ends of said locking arm and said second scissor arm opposite said first and second pivotal connections, whereby the grasping and removing of said grapple on said article is facilitated.

3. The grapple of claim 1 including a first link pivotally connected at one end to said first scissor arm,

a second link pivotally connected at one end to said second scissor arm,

said links also pivotally connected to each other and having said grasping means connected thereto.

4. A grapple comprising a pair of scissor arms connected to one another at a first pivotal connection,

a locking arm connected to the first of said scissor arms at a second pivotal connection, said locking arm having a sliding pivotal connection with second of said SCISSOI arms,

a first link pivotally connected at one end to said second scissor arm,

a second link connected by separate pivotal connections between the other end of said first link and said first scissor arm,

an appropriate article grasping means connected to said first scissor arm and said second link,

said sliding pivotal connection between said second scissor arm and said locking arm including a pin 6 mounted on one of said arms and the other of said References Cited 0 g 1 11 one end of said slot being properly positioned so that 557,480 3/1896 Boyd 294-119 when said second scissor arm and said locking arm 5 5761179 2/1897 294' 104X are rotated about said pin to bring the pin into a 2,644,455 7/1953 Benolt 294 118X straight line with said first and second pivotal connections, said pin will be held compressed against GERALD FORLENZA Pr'mary Examiner said end of the slot. G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GRAPPLE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SCISSOR ARMS CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER AT A FIRST PIVOTAL CONNECTION, APPROPRIATE GRASPING MEANS CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID SCISSOR ARMS FOR GRASPING AN ARTICLE THEREBETWEEN, A LOCKING ARM CONNECTED TO THE FIRST OF SAID SCISSOR ARMS AT A SECOND PIVOTAL CONNECTION, SAID LOCKING ARM HAVING A SLIDING PIVOTAL CONNECTION WITH THE SECOND OF SAID SCISSOR ARMS, SAID SLIDING PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SECOND SCISSOR ARM AND SAID LOCKING ARM INCLUDING A PIN MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID ARMS AND THE OTHER OF SAID ARMS HAVING A SLOT THEREIN, SAID PIN BEING INSERTED THROUGH SAID SLOT, ONE END OF SAID SLOT BEING PROPERLY POSITIONED SO THAT WHEN SAID SECOND SCISSOR ARM AND SAID LOCKING ARM ARE ROTATED ABOUT SAID PIN TO BRING THE PIN INTO A STRAIGHT LINE WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND PIVOTAL CONNECTIONS, SAID PIN WILL BE HELD COMPRESSED AGAINST SAID END OF THE SLOT, AND MEANS FOR LIMITING THE ROTATION IN ONE DIRECTION OF SAID LOCKING ARM WITH RESPECT TO SAID SECOND SCISSOR ARM, SAID LIMITING MEANS SO ACTING WHEN SAID LOCKING ARM IS IN SUCH A POSITION THAT IT WILL ALSO BE HELD FROM ROTATION IN THE OTHER DIRECTION BY SAID PIN COMPRESSED AGAINST SAID END OF SAID SLOT. 